National discourse in Chinese cyberspace: Rethinking the roles of and dynamics between the state, digital platforms, and non-state actors

Abstract

This commentary aims to gain a more nuanced understanding of the production of nationalism in Chinese cyberspace, providing insights into the roles of and dynamics between the state, digital platforms, and non-state actors. This commentary argues that nationalism remains a resilient, predominant and taken-for-granted discursive resource that can be mobilized by various social actors for individual, political or commercial purposes in different contexts. Notably, the roles of and relations among these actors in producing nationalism online are always dynamic, contested, and contextual. This commentary advances debates on Chinese digital nationalism by analyzing the roles of diverse social actors and the dynamic relationships among them. In doing so, it challenges the prevalent ‘party-propaganda’ perspective or the binary of ‘state–netizen interaction’.